Prosecutor closes Johnny Hallyday rape case

NICE, France, Jan 11, 2006 (AFP) – A prosecutor said Wednesday he had officially closed a case of alleged rape against France’s biggest rock star, Johnny Hallyday, after finding insufficient evidence to prove the charge.

“Nothing is in a state that can be proved,” Eric de Montgolfier, a judge based in Nice, told reporters.

He said that “there is no evidence permitting us to send Mr Smet (Jean-Philippe Smet, Hallyday’s real name) before a criminal court.”

Montgolfier’s investigation dated back to March 2003, when a hostess working on Hallyday’s yacht, Marie-Christine Vo, 36, accused the 62-year-old singer of raping her after a drunken party in April 2001.

The probe’s end has to be formalised by the two investigating magistrates looking into the matter.

Hallyday, who has a 40-year career in rock music and was once called the French Elvis Presley, has always vehemently denied Vo’s allegation.

Subject: French news